Many states are moving to tighten procedures for issuing driver licenses and identity cards amid concern that the terrorists who struck on Sept. 11 as well as their suspected accomplices obtained the documents too easily or under false pretenses.

While the changes may be modest in scope, a pattern is emerging: Foreign-born people will be singled out for tougher scrutiny by state licensing agencies. Investigators say state licenses and identity cards allowed the hijackers -- all believed to be foreign-born Middle-Eastern...